Leading up to New Zealand Fashion Week, we chat with one of New Zealand's top models Hope
Phillips to get the low down on the event, the fashion industry and also getting to know our favourite cool supermodel.
Hi Hope! Lovely having you chat with us.
You're one of the country's biggest models at the moment. How did you get here and did you ever
expect your career to take off the way it did? Hiii!!!! I really never expected my modelling career to take off like it has, considering when I started I was just the weird emo kid from Hawkes Bay. I did my first modelling job in 2013 when I was 14 for a shop in
Hawkes Bay called Guilty as Sin. I then did a couple of random modelling jobs in the Bay until I got
signed with Unique Model Management in 2016. Modelling work really picked up for me when I
shaved all my hair off and moved up to Auckland in 2017. I then impulsively moved over to England in 2018 and got signed with Bookings Models in London. I was very lucky to work with some incredibly talented people while living there, and I got to work with brands such as Chanel and Yves Saint Laurent. Working in the Uk really helped me become a better model (step my pussy up) because there
is so much competition over there, and if you’re not good enough you will very easily be replaced.
Where is your favourite place you've worked? For example, have you travelled for a photoshoot or
fashion show?
Because I’ve lived in major cities while working as a model I haven’t really had to travel too much for
work. I did get to do a shoot in Queenstown earlier this year for an Australian brand Lenni The Label which was so much fun. I had never been to Queenstown before so I was very lucky to get a paid trip down there.
Most of the work I have done have been in photography studios or in just the most random locations
like abandoned buildings, parks, and a surprising amount of churches.
The modelling industry, as well as the general fashion industry, is notoriously toxic at times. How
do you navigate this and what do you do to stay grounded?
The industry in NZ is a lot less toxic compared to overseas, and I've found that as I've gotten older and
more experienced it has been a lot easier to separate myself from those toxic people in the industry.
Honestly everyone’s just a lot nicer here and the vibes are just chill and more easy going.
In the UK you can feel the competitiveness at every casting you go to because there's just so many
models competing for the same job. I hadn't really experienced toxic models until I moved over there,
and I found that you are more likely to experience toxic people when doing runways, because they can
be very high stress situations. I find to stay grounded helps, you just really can't let those people get under your skin. I also found that doing breath work and being in nature really helps.
Times are changing though! With inclusivity becoming more mainstream, do you think it's a differ-
ent industry from when you first started? Times have definitely changed since I’ve started modelling, thank God! The industry is so much more
inclusive now which is amazing. I genuinely don't remember working with another model above a
size 8/10 until 2020. Its so good that normal sized models are being used more in mainstream media,
because ya know you don't want young people growing up in the toxic diet culture that we grew up
in. Even though we have come so far, there is still so many things that need to improve.
Another thing that bugs me about the fashion industry is people not wanting to look old/look their
age. I have seen tiktoks of girls as young as 14 doing anti-aging skincare routines. You have barely
started going through puberty at 14! It's such a stupid thing to stress out about, even tho I still find it hard to break out of the ‘I don't wanna look old mindset’. I just have to keep reminding myself, why
would I want to look 16 when I'm 24? When I'm 50 why would I want to look like I'm 20/30 years old?
I want to look my age.
You are known for your androgynous look. Do you work to look this way or it's just comes naturally? Who are some models you idolise? Being non-binary, androgyny has always come quite naturally to me. I do tend to sway between
fem and masc depending on how I'm feeling that day. I would love to look more androgynous though, my end goal is to give off genderless alien vibes. Also just a shout out to my agency Unique Model
Management who has a non-binary section, I cried when they made it because it just made me feel
seen.
There are so many iconic models that I idolise. But my favourites would have to be Shalom Harlow, Gisele Bundchen, Linda Evangelista, Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell of course, Sofia Stein-
berg, Adut Akech, and Alex Consani. I can keep going there are just so many iconic models out there.
How do you deal with negative people in the industry? Moody designers, bitchy models, angry
agents?
I have been very lucky when it has come to my agents, they have all been lovely. Especially the team
at Unique Models, they are all so lovely and supportive. But most of the time if there’s a situation
with a moody designer/model/team member...I tend to just mind my business because I usually only
have to work with them for a day and you never know they could just be having a bad day.
But there was once a time in the UK when another model and I walked out on a shoot because the
person running the shoot was mocking/discriminating the other model because of her beliefs.
We left because the person in charge of the shoot was publicly humiliating her because she was 25
and still a virgin. She was just waiting to meet the right person. I can handle if someone is
rude/mean to me, but as soon as they are rude to someone else (especially when they are a nice
person) it’s an absolute NO, I will not just sit there and watch that happen!
What’s one of your beauty secrets?
Double cleansing. I only started doing this recently because I really didn't think that it would make a
difference. But girl, I was so wrong! my skin is so much softer and I can already tell that my acne is
clearing up. 10/10 would recommend people try this.
Do you have a philosophy by which you live? I think this counts as a philosophy? But it would be ‘treat others how you would want to be treated’. There really is no point being a mean person it’s just so much easier to be nice. I really don't get it when people talk down to others or are just rude???
You get to have dinner with three people, living or dead. Who are you eating with?
This is such a hard question because there are so many people that I admire but I would have to say,
Britney Broskey, Jinx Monsoon, and Shalom Harlow.
What are your hobbies or interests outside of modelling?
When I'm not modelling, I really like doing just anything creative and hands on. Some of those things
are painting, sewing, and crochet. I tend to change up what creative thing I'm doing every few
months otherwise I find I just get over it. I'm also really into gaming, mainly PC gaming. Its just a
really good way to unwind and turn off my brain for a bit after a stressful day.
Besides modelling, what do you do? Are you currently working another job too, or attending
school? If yes - Is it fashion related?
At the moment I am mainly just modelling full time. I did go to AUT in 2017 and studied fashion,
but it honestly just made me not want to become a designer. But I am going back to uni next year to
study a Bachelor in Design and Contemporary Art, and hopefully that will lead me onto furniture
design.
Who are some of your favourite designers?
Some of my favourite designers would be, Vivienne Westwood, Thierry Mugler, Bob Mackie, Fecal Matter (they are a design duo, I swear), Rick Owens, Alexander McQueen, RubberDei (a talented latex designer), and Chrishabana.
What type of clothes do you like to wear? What’s your off duty style?
Being non-binary my style does tend to change on a daily depending on how masculine or feminine I'm feeling. When I can be bothered to properly get dressed up, I tend to dress more like an ancient genderless vampire. But most of the time I dress like a hybrid of 70's fashion meets emo goblin.
What modelling work are you most proud or excited of? Why?
Probably the work I did for Schon! Magazine, which is a German fashion magazine. It is definitely one of the most creative shoots I've done. I really love when fashion meets art and tells a story to create something beautiful.
NZFW isn’t far away, I am sure you’ve booked a few shows already. Have you modelled at previous NZFW’s? And who for? What designers?
It's gonna be a very busy week I'm so excited! Especially since last Fashion Week got canceled. I have done NZFW twice before, in 2016 and 2017. In 2016 I walked for Black Eyed Peach, Xplain, and Knuefermann. In 2017 I walked for Zambesi, Lela Jacobs, Stolen Girlfriends Club, Kate Slyvester, and a few other designers.
Tell me about an interesting experience or encounter you’ve had at a modelling job?
This is one of those questions that whenever I'm asked I instantly forget every interesting thing that's ever happened to me. The first one that pops into mind is when I had to wait 2 hours to get into a casting for London Fashion Week, just to be told straight to my face by the designer that i was “too fat” to work for them…. That was back in 2019, so all I can say is thank God the industry is changing.
On a happier note, I got to work with an amazing UK artist Kasseus, who literally
turned me into literal art. In some billion dollar apartment in London there is a 2 meter tall print of me, which is a bit weird to think that there's a photo of me in someone else's house. Kasseus also turns his art into murals too and there is a mural of me in Barcelona which is so cool!
What's the best advice you've ever received?
Don't live your life for other people. You're never going to be happy if you care so much about what other people think that it stops you from doing things that you want to do. In my first year of Highschool, I tried so hard to fit in because I didn't know anyone there and I just wanted to be seen as “normal”. It was literally like living a lie. I hated it. I was then lucky enough to make an amazing friend and she really helped me come out of my shell, so that I could finally act and dress how I wanted to. Even tho this is so much easier said then done, but you really are never going to be happy if you don't embrace your true self.
What's your biggest pet peeve when it comes to social media?
How fake everyone is. It's hypercritical of me to say that as I only post professional photos of me online because my main account is my work account, and designers also sometimes look at your Instagram when considering you for a job.
But people can make themselves look like such good/nice people online but in reality they are self absorbed, rude, literally nothing like how they portray themselves. I have seen people in the industry go far because they are fake and have connections with the right people, when in reality they really aren't that talented. Another thing that bugs me is how face-tuned everyone's posts are now. It can be so bad that when I meet people, I don't recognise them for a sec because I'm so used to seeing them online. You really cant believe anything you see on social media.
